Help us get to 300!

If you are checking out this blog and are also using facebook, take a minute to join our Innovation in Mission group. We are almost to 300 members and you can help us get there.

Click here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21925728488 or search Innovation in Mission next time you hop on!

See you there.

10 Minutes a Day with Jesus - July 28 - Aug 1

An Authentic Connection

This week we have been talking about authenticity. Can you think of anyone more authentic than Jesus? He brought eternity into our lives in a way that we are still striving to understand.

As you think about how you can be authentic in your innovation work, who better to model than Jesus. The co-editor with me of Innovation in Mission - Jim Reapsome - has a new book out called 10 Minutes a Day with Jesus and it is worth a read.

Jim does an incredible job of giving us bite-sized opportunities to learn more about Jesus and what He has done for us. These short devotionals inspire a day's worth of thought and have been such an encouragement to me when I feel that I don't have any more to give.

So many times Jesus seems like a distant idea, a foreign person so far from our reality. As I read this, I am getting to know Jesus in new ways and realizing how Jesus wants to revolutionize my life with his authentic touch.

I hope you will find this book to be an encouragement as you seek to innovate in your ministry. Jesus is our most powerful example in innovation work and we must seek after Him constantly if we want to be used to unleash authentic innovations for God's glory.

Authentic Innovation

I have been thinking about authenticity recently. It started when I asked God why he doesn't move more powerfully in us at times. As I thought about this, I realized that many times when God moves I immediately focus in on this new exciting thing that is happening and take it over. I am convinced that I can run it better than God!

You know what I mean. How many times does God do something special just to have us come in and build this movement a building, a program, an 8 week curriculum, etc. We don't know what else to do with the God of the Universe on the move. To let Him do His thing would be to loose control of our lives completely - and that is the idea isn't it?

I think there is a powerful application to innovation. God is the ultimate innovator. He is doing incredible new things that are transforming lives and blessing communities. His ways are inherently innovative - we understand only a small piece of who God is and how He thinks. Imagine the endless stream of new ideas that God is capable of revealing in our world.

With this in mind, innovation in mission is about seeking God. If God is the source of our ideas, then those concepts will have an authenticity that we could not develop on our own. Let me give you an example. In the Old Testament, God innovated to create a place for His people Israel. He brought them out of captivity and gave them a land. In that land there was no king - simply a judge that represented God's holy rule. What an innovative model for government! To think that the God of the universe would guide and lead an earthly people.

As this played out, God showed himself faithful and protected Israel. After one such event, the people decided that they needed control. They wanted a king. Samuel tried to convince them that the authentic rule of God was more beneficial than a human king, but they had made up their minds.

How many times do we take a holy idea - authentic to its core - and destroy it as we seek to gain control and power? How many innovations has this destroyed? Who knows, but we do know that God is an endless fount of blessing and He is willing to bless us with many more ideas. IF we will not seek to control and own them.

So what does authentic innovation look like? It is God moving through us to bring about a new idea that will bless many. We participate and God guides it to fruition. Pray that God will move in that way in your ministry today!

The Most Relevant Missions Topic

I have been doing a poll on this site for the past months about the most relevant topic in missions. Here are the results:

The Most Relevant Topic in Missions today is . . .
- Church Planting (13%)
- Business as Mission (20%)
- Strategic Partnerships (6%)
- Equipping Local Believers (60%)

What does this say about where we need innovation? Well, one thing it says is that we need to be innovating in how organizations empower and equip effectively. How are you innovating in this area?

More to come . . .

Book of the Week - July 14-18

10 Rules for Strategic Innovators

This book is a solid help - specifically if you are trying to innovate within a legacy organization. I blogged about this book a bit last week, but it is worth mentioning again.

Insurgency and the Establishment

To be involved in innovation takes a willingness to do things differently. It takes a fighting heart that can push through on change even when it is hard. It takes a sensitivity to people that allows you to empower them in the creative process.

To do these types of things, you have to be an insurgent. You have to be willing to forget the old ways of doing something and at the same time borrow all the good of the old.

Your main struggle as an innovator will be against the establishment. The establishment is the system that works wonderfully today but is not thinking about how the world must change.

So here is the question, how can you have an insurgent's heart within an establishment world? They are not mutually exculsive. In fact, some of the greatest innovations came out of the center of the old, established organizations/industries/cultures.

One of the great examples is Corning. This company has reinvented itself dozens of times creating new markets and new products that have revolutionized our world. From light bulbs to Corningware, to fiber optics and now LCD screens. They are an example of an established company who has an insurgent culture capable of amazing innovation. To see a timeline of their innovation click here.

One of the key ideas that I would like to highlight in this process is one that is shared in a book called Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators: From idea to execution. It is key for insurgents within established organizations. The authors call it "NewCo" and "CoreCo." The idea is simple. Your core company - CoreCo - can create new initiatives - NewCo - if it is strategic. There are two key lessons to learn if you are trying to start something new within an established organization.

Borrow - They say that we must borrow key infrastructure that will help us succeed. For instance if your ministry has a warehouse, your new initiative should use it to store key products/materials instead of outsoucing and spending more money.

Forget - They say that we must forget the old ways things have been done. So if your ministry has a traditional way of doing a certain thing, you must forget it and reimagine it for your new needs.

If your desire is to begin a NewCo within a CoreCo, the other key thing for you to consider is how you structure your initiative. If it is too connected to the old, it won't make it. A CoreCo manager will never make the necessary sacrifices for a NewCo initiative. If it is too disconnected you won't have the advantages of all that infrastructure. The key is high level leaders who support the NewCo but empower it to grow and develop the way it needs to.

So here is the question, what can you do to create the right environment to lead an insurgency within your established organization?

Innovation Book of the Week - July 7-11

As you consider how to take an idea you have and really connect it with others, a must read is Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath.

This book helps you identify what a message or idea needs to have to be memorable and actionable.

Enjoy!

http://www.madetostick.com/

Anchor and Twist

So many times when we come up with a new idea, we then go about trying to sell it to the world. We make powerpoints, design logos, create descriptions, write case studies and on and on.

Two of my favorite innovation writers (Dan and Chip Heath - who wrote Made to Stick) have a new concept that I think can really help missions innovators. The call it Anchor and Twist.

The concept is very easy. Instead of trying to explain your new idea from scratch, you start with something people know, relate it to your idea and then add the twist. This allows people to quickly relate your idea to something that they have seen before, but creates the distinctive quickly. This is tricky, but can be very powerful.

Lets take a very easy example. We recently purchased a small high definition flat panel television. For some the difference between analog and digital is still a bit unclear. But try this, "The picture looks like what you see on your flat panel computer monitor at work only it has an antenna hookup in the back." Almost everyone now has flat computer monitors, so they know what those are. But none of theirs have a place for an antenna to hook up. So you anchored your idea in something they knew and twisted it to describe the new item.

Lets us a missions example. As many of you might know, a staple in communicating missions in North America has been the "dinner event." They are banquets where people come to hear about what God is doing around the world. These tools were and still can be very effective for awareness and communication. One of the centerpieces for a missions banquet is always the "compelling video." Lets say I am trying to introduce our YouTube videos and explain how they might be used to communicate to people interested in missions. I could either go into a long explanation of online video, the demographics, the stats etc, or I could say, "Putting our missions videos on online videos on sites like YouTube are like a virtual missions banquet with a 24/7 program." I have anchored the YouTube video in a familiar concept for many people involved in missions but twisted it with they reality that they are available all the time.

What innovative concept are you working to present today? How could you apply this concept of "Anchor and Twist" to help people understand and grapple with it more effectively. Remember that the amount of work you do up front to define and explain will go a long way towards adoption as you work with you idea.

Fix and Flex Part 2

I received a great response from our first installment on the "Fix and Flex" concept. On of our facebook group members asked the following question and I wanted to take a minute and process it with you.

"Jon -- Cool. Sounds like being goal oriented. For me, that is a strong motivator...but what about other creative types that are not particularly goal oriented...who prefer to feel the flow. Any tips? Any tips for those to whom they would be accountable?"

Here are some thoughts:

When we talk about fixing one thing and flexing another, we usually thing dates/times/etc. Those are very linear things that we wish we could fix on both ends. The innovation of fix and flex is that we pick the most important one to success and then the other side of the equation stays loose and able to change.

But lets think about this in a different way for creatives who aren't at all driven by linear goals. You can also do this with very conceptual things. For instance, let's say that you are a graphic designer and you are tasked with creating a series of postcards to promote an upcoming event. The normal process is to receive the scope for the project from whoever is requesting it and then begin to work based on that scope. But what if the designer looked at the scope and asked the question, "Which element of the scope is most central?" Out of this exercise they might pick one or two things to fix. Then they could process, what areas are open for new ideas or new approaches - those are the areas to flex.

Now comes along the manager of this graphic designer. If you are using the same vocabulary, the manager who is holding this graphic designer accountable can engage them and ask what things must be fixed and what areas can the designer really try some new and different approaches.

In this environment, a designer can create an innovative environment while still being accountable for the scope.

What do you think of this next application?

Fix and Flex Part 1 - reference

Friends,

For those of you interested in the article that I refered to in the Part 1 story, please click here:
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-early-riser/

- ENJOY!

Fix and Flex Part 1

How do you create order and process if you are a creative/innovative person? This is one of those age old questions. We look at those creatives in our lives and many times they are tipified by the all-nighters, messy desks and ignored calendars. That is a stereotype of creative minds.

Mindy and I recently read an article that Dayna Garland, Creative Director at HCJB Global, gave us. It was entitled "How to Become an Early Riser" by Steve Pavlina. In this article he focuses on his journey to being an early riser. He did it because he saw that some of the most productive hours in the day were the early ones. I would highly recommend the read, but for this posting, I am only taking one of his core ideas and throwing it out there for a wider application.

His basic solution was what I am calling "Fix and Flex." In the article, he said that the way he was able to change his habits and become an early riser was to fix the morning time he would get up but flex the evening time based on how tired he was. Fix and Flex - sounds simple.

The beauty of this simple little concept is that it is the saving grace for all you creatives out there. Usually the answer to more discipline is a high amount of rigid restrictions. We see this in New Years Resolutions. In those high restrictions, compliance becomes very difficult. Usually, we fail and then give up.

The difference with fix and flex is that you fix one thing but you allow the more relaxed process of creativity to dictate the other. Let me give you another example. Lets say that my goal was to write in this blog three times a week. With this concept, I would fix the number of times I wanted to write but not when. That means that one week all three posts might come in the same night and the next week they would come on Monday Wednesday and Friday.

Are you seeing the applications? In the end, it is very simple. When we require that everything be fixed as a matter of discipline we are set up for failure because of circumstances, creative flow, etc. But when we allow for flexibility along with fixed goals, we create an environment where we can be much more innovative.

More to come in this in the next few days.

A Loving Touch

A quote from Carolyn Arends' recent article in Christianity Today really got my attention the other day:

"Is there any story about God that isn't a love story?" - Carolyn Arends

She is right. No matter how aweful the situation or how strange the outcome, everything that God is about is covered in love. When He corrects - He loves. When he blesses - He loves.

So think about your work to innovate. How are we covering our actions in love. Sometimes it is easy to get so caught up in accomplishing a goal or creating something new. We get focused in and we act in very unloving ways. Then we wonder why God is not blessing our seemingly "holy cause."

This isn't something that just happens to those wayward people. It happens to all of us. We get so focused on our goal that we stop loving. How does this look practically?
- We reject a vacation request of a project member because our deadline is more important than their unique opportunity.
- We cut people off in a meeting when they are processing the project goals.
- We manipulate people to perform faster.
- We pit one person against another to motivate them.
- We yell at vendors who did not deliver.
- We short-change our family for the project.
- and the list goes on and on.

Our motivation in our innovation is the key. Are we doing our missional innovation out of a love for God and for those that our innovation will serve?

Being Dangerous

Charles Bukowski said, "To do a dangerous thing with style, is what I call art."

Why are we so risk adverse? Why are we so afraid to fail? Maybe some of those same reasons cause us to do little that draws attention or stands out as compelling.

Are you willing to do a dangerous thing?

A Rest from Blogging

Everyone needs a rest - so I have taken a week or two rest from blogging. But this week I am back and we will be talking about "Fixed and Flexed". Stay tuned for more on how this concept can help you create an environment for innovation.

Engaging People through Art

Recently, I featured an article by Paul Nethercott about Missional Art. We recieved a great response of click-throughs and some good comments. I also recieved this excellent example of missional art. Kathy Trim (another TEAM missionary in Japan) shares how she is using art to engage the Japanese culture. Take a few minutes to read this and think about how art can be a part of your missional outreach:

Scrapbooking. The word alone raises many eyebrows as a large number of people believe it is just an expensive hobby. And in the United States, I do believe that, for some people, that is probably an accurate definition. However, I prefer to think of it as a form of art, particularly one that passes on a heritage to the next generation.

How can the art of scrapbooking be missional art? Japanese tourists are often stereotyped as people who travel in groups with cameras around their necks. In actuality, it isn't just the tourists from Japan who are taking photographs. Photography is very popular with nearly all Japanese people. What are they taking photos of? Just like you and me, they take pictures of the people, events, and scenery that are important to them. Building relationships with Japanese people takes lots of time. It is hard to get past the surface topics and become trusted enough that they will open up and share what is really in their hearts. However, through the sharing of photographs, relationships can be effectively deepened.

This is where scrapbooking comes "into the picture". (pun intended)

Scrapbooking can be an individual activity in the privacy of your home. But, the real fun of scrapbooking comes when people gather together in groups and share ideas and tools, and work together on their individual projects. I've begun hosting scrapbooking events in our church hall which is so suited to this with lots of tables and chairs. There is no preaching or evangelistic message. There is just a leader who cares; a leader who will walk around and ask the guests to tell them about the photos; a leader who will give words of encouragement and hope; a leader who will offer ideas to help the guests create photo albums that will be filled with cherished memories for themselves and their families. I am not very artistic...Yet, with the tools and supplies available for scrapbooking, I am now able to express my creativity in an art form that will hopefully bless others as they see my albums and hear my faith-stories that are journaled in the albums. The Japanese women that are now attending these events are excited about what they are doing. They enjoy showing their photographs to other people and talking about them. These women are bonding with each other, as together they create their own art.

Missions begins with relationships. As we build relationships and develop trust, opportunities to share our faith will open up. The innovation comes at the beginning. How do we meet new people? How do we develop relationships with them? How do we help them recognize a need in their lives that up until now, they may not have realized they have? Very few people will intentionally seek us out. It is for us to go and seek those whom are lost. We certainly aren't
going to stumble over them sitting on the church steps waiting for us to open the doors.
Scrapbooking is a type of art that even people who are not "artistic" can do. It opens up the doors to interact with people on a deeper level. It is also meeting a felt need in their lives (shoeboxes overflowing with pictures that need to be organized and preserved for the future).

To me, scrapbooking is missional art.

K.J. Trim
church planting with TEAM in Kobe, Japan

Linking Christ-centered Innovation to Prayer

There is a direct and essential link between Christ-centered innovation and the discipline of prayer. Our success in innovation demands that we be connected to God and communing with Him. We need His heart to know what problems or challenges to address.

I used the phrase "Christ-centered innovation" on purpose because much innovation that exists in our world is focused on ourselves and our needs. That does not mean it is bad. But it does mean that it was done with the basic human gifts and talents that God has given to all of humanity.

But there are innovations that are Christ-centered or Christ-focused. These are innovations that come out of prayer and knowing the mind of God. These innovations are big in God's economy, but they may or may not register in the eyes of modern man.

Of course, the challenge with understanding which innovations come out of this posture is that it is all about motivations. And that gets me to my point. Those Christ-centered innovations are only birthed out of prayer. If we are to reach beyond ourselves and create innovations that will impact people for Christ, they will come as we pray for breakthroughs.

This is easy to say and very hard to do. Innovation is a practical and energizing event. Prayer on the other hand, can seem very impractical and without energy. Of course, we know it is not, but it is hard to get beyond that perception. So many times we think of prayer as the thing you do to kick off the effort. It is like smashing the bottle of wine against the hull of the ship before it sets sail.

But prayer is most of the work. To continue using our last analogy. Prayer is the building of the ship and the actual innovation work is only the sailing of it.

So how many hours should we put into prayer if we truely desire our innovations to be Christ-centered? I don't think there is a formula, but I can probably guarantee that we should spend more than we are spending today!

Innovation in the Arts

As people interested in being on mission with God, we are always searching for new tools that will help us share hope. Everything considered a potential teaching tool isn't it? You use movies, events, holidays, music and the list goes on.

One of our faithful Innovation in Mission members on facebook, Paul Nethercott (TEAM missionary in Japan), has shared a new perspective on art and its potential for missions.

I love how Paul has brought up the concept of redemption in art. Our creativity has a way of bringing a message of hope home like no other. So please take a minute to read this innovative approach to art and see how it can be a part of your ministry toolbox:

Missional Art
The Heavens declare the glory of God: the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalm 19:1)

"Missional” refers to outwardly focused actions that share Christ with the world.

"Missional Art" is any creative expression that intentionally illuminates God and the hope found in Christ.

Missional Art is modeled after God’s revelation of Himself in creation, in Scripture, and in the incarnation. All aspects of God’s revelation are creative masterpieces that originate in the heart of a loving God who wants to be known by those He created to be like Him (“in His image”). One aspect of God’s image in us is the capacity to express ourselves by creating art that is missional. The phrase “Missional Art” is new, the concept is not. And, it is not confined to the West; we can discover it throughout history, in a vast number of cultures.

The first biblical example of Missional Art is when God empowered Bezalel to build the temple in ancient Israel (Exodus chapter 31). According to theologian Francis Schaffer, this is the first time the Bible mentions that the Holy Spirit indwelled someone for a specific purpose “… I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.” The Jewish temple was missional because it was intended not only as a place of worship for the Israelites, but as a witness to all the nations; it is a stunning example of Missional Art.

Throughout history, gifted artists, believers filled with the Holy Spirit, have been creating missional art that is often far more effective than mere words at drawing people towards putting their faith in Christ. What aspects of missional art are important in making it effective? Four key elements of Missional Art are Hook, Honesty, Humanity, and Redemptive Content (The concept of Hook, Honesty, and Humanity are by songwriter Darrell Brown)

Hook is one reason Amazing Grace is such a memorable and well-loved song. A song with Hook “sticks” in the mind, unconsciously it replays itself in your head. Writers of pop music are well aware of Hook but the concept is applicable in other areas, including the visual arts -- the enigmatic smile of Mona Lisa being one of the most famous Hooks in the history of Western art. Art that has no Hook fails to connect, fading from consciousness like a plainly dressed person in a large crowd.

Honesty is hard to define, but critically important. We sense when it is lacking, but it is difficult to articulate what the difference is. Several years ago, I heard one of my female acquaintances sing for a church service. Something didn't sound right, so I asked, "Was that your real voice today?" "No," she responded, "that was my church voice I used my real voice many years ago when I sang rock music with my band, but I don’t use it when I sing in church.” One of the main reasons adults enjoy watching children perform is their transparent Honesty. But, adults who perform without shame or pretense are rare. Johnny Cash is an example of someone with this kind of authenticity; he didn’t have an exceptional voice, he even wandered off key sometimes, but people responded to him, he was incredibly genuine as he sang what was in his heart.

Humanity touches our emotions, what Darrel Brown calls “the physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual sides of Humanity. The big themes — the brokenness and the triumph of it all. So people can relate to what I am writing and singing about.” Ironically, many Christians seem to fear being human, calling it immoral; while the Bible abounds with tasteful Humanity; weddings, celebrations, parties, the sweat of Jesus, violence, family dysfunction, drunkenness and yes, sexuality (it isn’t gratuitous, but it IS there). It appears that many of us are more comfortable with the divinity of Jesus than we are with His Humanity. This is one reason for the scarcity of Christians who are creating art that is full of Humanity. Since everyone experiences the human side of life, people of all nations, races, and cultures can relate to Humanity, it is universally understood.

Redemptive Content includes, but in no way is limited to, clearly identified symbols connected with Christianity. Beauty, goodness, metaphors, stories, allusions, abstract forms, and colors can all be redemptive. Makoto Fujimura’s paintings are abstract, most have no explicit Christian content, but they are Redemptive. It would be a huge mistake to understand “Redemptive Content” to mean that a photographer must insert Scripture verses into all her photos. Or, that a dancer has to wear an outfit with a cross on it. There is a place for worship art, for symbols, and for words, but Missional Art does not have to be explicit or obvious to be effective. But, being “clothed” in Hook, Honesty, and Humanity is very important.

Some Christians make the mistake of dictating that Crystal-clear Redemptive Content (the gospel clearly stated or pictured) is the only important criteria for judging art. In their zeal to communicate the gospel, they ignore Hook, Honesty, and Humanity. Art created with the one criteria of Redemptive Content in mind is often created by zealous, sincere people who really aren’t gifted in the arts. What they are gifted in is preaching, and there certainly is a place for that, but it does not mix well with art. The results of the “lets use art to preach” approach are generally unappealing, not even connecting with Christians, and alienating to those who have no knowledge of Jesus.

Examples of effective Missional Art:

• Handel’s Messiah
• The Passions of Bach
• Rembrandt’s “The Prodigal Son”
• C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia
• The Passion of the Christ (Mel Gibson’s Movie)
• The novels of Ayako Miura
• The paintings of Makoto Fujumura
• Black Gospel Music in Japan (Halleluiah Gospel Choirs)
• The Bible Manga Series
• The music of U2

Amazing examples abound of effective Missional Art with clear Redemptive Content that is loved and accepted, even by cultures that reject Christianity. The crucial factor is quality, how it is done is critically important. However, we must never forget that God can work through totally unpredictable and surprising ways to draw people to himself. He can use “sappy” songs that really don’t have much by way of artistic merit. He can take a movie like Sister Act, and make it a means of communicating his love to the nation of Japan. This Hollywood movie is one of the catalytic factors behind the popularity of Black Gospel in Japan and has resulted in large numbers of Japanese paying to sing in black gospel choirs. It is thrilling to witness Japanese singing the gospel, with passion, with movement, from their hearts and hear about a significant number who are meeting Christ.

Missional Art has had a huge impact on the world, and will continue to be one of the primary avenues that people around the world, in a wide variety of cultures, will become aware of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

There is much left to be said on the subject --- I would really like to get input from readers of the Innovation in Mission group on how to improve and expand on this topic. I also want to thank Scot Eaton, Graham Fleming, Jon Hirst, Roger Lowther, Nancy Nethercott, and Robin White for their invaluable input on this paper.

Two Relevant Books:
imagine by Steve Turner
Unceasing Worship by Harold Best

What Comes after the Innovation?

After you innovate . . . then what? Do you break out in a victory dance, fall flat on your face in exhaustion, go on with your life as if nothing has happened . . . really what do you do?

I think it is different for everyone. The reason you haven't heard from me in a week or more is that I just finished my second book project - this time with my wife Mindy. We have been working on an exciting innovation. It is focused on taking a very complex concept presented by Dr. Paul Hiebert and sharing it in a simple yet compelling way. It was a lot of work but the book was handed in last week.

So after our major push, we collapsed . . . if that is possible with three kids. Actually we spent time doing things we hadn't done in a while - watched a movie, took care of the lawn, you know how it goes.

But this highlights a good point. When you reach a key milestone in your innovation work, you need to have a plan. Do you need rest? Do you need a change of scenery? Do you need to go out with some friends? Do you need a vacation on a beach somewhere? Whatever recharges your batteries for the next push . . . DO IT! If you don't, the next idea will be harder to bring to life.

As for our new book - more to come soon. It will be released early 2009.

Do you have an Innovation Sherpa?

New innovations are coming at us quickly these days. With each new one, a whole new set of rules and realities must be digested and understood. That can get overwhelming so easily. In many ways, taking advantage of a new innovation is like a serious mountian climb.

You wouldn't consider climbing Everest without a guide, so why do we try to understand and utilize these new innovations without one? So in the spirit of getting help, I would like to introduce you to the idea of the Innovation Sherpa!

Actually these people are all over. They are those people who love to be on the leading edge. They explore a new innovation thoroughly and then come back to the bottom of the mountain to help others enjoy it as well. These people are like gold if you are a busy person. They will help you find the right trail and identify how this innovation can help you in your ministry.

I would like to introduce you to someone like this today. Chris Forbes runs a facebook group called "Facebook for Pastors" (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18403101472). He is also the founder of his own company - Ministry Marketing Coach.

I would encourage you to join the group and learn from him as he helps church staff to climb the mountain of this particular innovation. You can also download a free E-book on how to use facebook in church ministry: http://ministrymarketingcoach.com/free-e-books/.

We all need guides. The intracacy of life is very tricky and getting help makes all the difference. Learn to identify the key Innovation Sherpas in your life and follow them, or you might just get stuck on that mountain!

Books and Resources for the Innovator

I spoke at a conference recently and shared a list of books and resources helpful in innovation work. I wanted to share them with you as well. I hope they are useful.

Books to Consider
Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
Spiritual Leadership, Henry and Richard Blackaby
Well Connected, Phill Butler
Credibility, James Kouzes/Barry Posner
The Age of Access, Jeremy Rifkin
Blue Ocean Strategy, W. Chan Kim/Renee Mauborgne
The Innovator’s Dilemma, Clayton Christensen
Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey Moore
Making Innovation Work, Davila/Epstein/Shelton
10 Rules For Strategic Innovators, Govindarajan/Trimble
Small is the New Big, Seth Godin
A Whack on the Side of the Head, Roger Von Oech
Mindset, John Naisbitt

Other Resources to Consider
Fast Company Magazine, www.fastcompany.com
Evangelical Missions Quarterly, www.emqonline.com
Momentum Magazine, http://www.momentum-mag.org/
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/